NFL Week 7 Recap: The Panthers & Patriots Stayed Perfect

The two undefeated NFL teams who played on Sunday stayed unbeaten, but other fans witnessed some ugly football. Here’s what we learned in Week 7:

Streaming Won’t Replace TV Broadcasts Any Time Soon

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The Jaguars beat the Bills, 34-31, on Sunday in London in the first NFL game to be streamed live online for free. Of course, no one should have had to pay for football this bad: the teams combined for five fumbles, three interceptions and 20 penalties.

Those fans who did see the game witnessed Jacksonville (2-5) blow a 27-3 first-half lead to Buffalo (3-4), before Blake Bortles’ touchdown pass to Allen Hurns with 2:16 left gave the Jags the win.

The Panthers Are Not A Fluke

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Cam Newton didn’t play well on Sunday, but the Panthers defense did. Carolina beat the Eagles, 27-16, to improve to 6-0 for the first time in franchise history.

Newton was intercepted three times, but the Panthers defense held Philadelphia (4-3) to just six points on those turnovers. Carolina also sacked Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford six times and held him to just 205 yards passing.

Jonathan Stewart ran for 119 yards for the Panthers, who have now won 10 consecutive regular-season games dating back to 2014. Carolina remained one of five unbeaten NFL teams this season, along with New England, Cincinnati, Denver and Green Bay.

Patriots Offense > Jets Defense

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The Jets kept the Patriots down, but they couldn’t knock them out. Tom Brady threw two clutch touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, and New England beat New York, 30-23, on Sunday to remain undefeated.

New York (4-2) used the NFL’s best defense to stifle New England (6-0) and the league’s highest scoring offense through three quarters, but the Jets couldn’t keep Brady & Co. out of the end zone late. Brady was 34 of 54 for 355 yards, and he ran for a first-half score.

The Cowboys & Steelers Need Their Starting QBs Back

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The Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers each lost games on Sunday they might have won had they started a healthy Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger, respectively. While the two popular teams wait for their injured franchise quarterbacks to return, they’d better figure out how to get the replacements to help win games.

Dallas (2-4) lost to the Giants, 27-20, when former Cowboy Dwayne Harris returned a kickoff 100 yards for a tie-breaking touchdown in the fourth quarter. However, the turning point of the game came when Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie returned the first of his two interceptions of Dallas quarterback Matt Cassel 58 yards for a touchdown early in the second half.

New York (4-3) picked off Cassel three times on Sunday, while snapping a five-game losing streak against the Cowboys. Dallas has now lost four games in a row, all started by someone other than Romo.

The Chiefs soundly beat the Steelers, 23-13. Pittsburgh quarterback Landry Jones looked exactly like a man making his first NFL start. Jones committed three turnovers, and he passed for just 209 yards with a touchdown. Pittsburgh (4-3) got 121 yards rushing from LeVeon Bell, but he wasn’t enough to make up for Jones’ mistakes.

Charcandrick West ran for 110 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City (2-5). Chiefs safety Eric Berry nabbed his first interception since being diagnosed with cancer last season.

The Texans Are A Raging Dumpster Fire

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The Dolphins routed the Texans, 44-26, on Sunday, but the game really wasn’t that close. Miami (3-3) led 41-0 in the first half, scoring four touchdowns of 50 yards or more. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed his first 18 pass attempts against a terrible Houston defense, while Lamar Miller carried 10 times for 175 yards and two scores in the first half.

The humiliating defeat and the loss of Foster piled on to what was already a bad weekend for Houston (2-5). Former starting quarterback Ryan Mallet missed the team’s charter flight to Miami; he had to fly commercial to witness the embarrassing defeat. The Texans are obviously in total disarray, a state that might take down head coach Bill O'Brien.